Sleeping in Car = Camping?

[Iguru]

No camping sign = find another place to park. My interpretation.
It is usually no problem to find a place that is not marked.
Overnite parking is permitted in Colorado unless otherwise posted.

[Wildernessjane]

We got “the knock” from a sheriff’s deputy at 1:00 am before doing a winter summit. He asked why we were parked there in front of a no camping sign (which pictured a tent) and we told him because we weren’t camping. He proceeded to inform us that we WERE indeed camping - he was not amused - but then let us stay anyways (though it seemed he was having a hard time wrapping his head around what our intentions were - he asked us three times).

[mtnkub]

I consider it parking, but I am not the one writing the tickets or doing the enforcement.

Yup. If you got at ticket, you could probably successfully fight it in court. But who wants to go through that trouble. And either way, you won't get your sleep back. So I guess best to avoid it if you conveniently can. At Rock of Ages / Silver Pick TH, I saw other people sleep in their car, but decided to stay at a nearby turnout instead. At the Maroon Lake overnight parking area (which has "no camping" signs), i specifically asked the "camp" hosts last year. They told me sleeping in the car is fine; just can't put up a tent. Different host might have a different opinion of course.

[benmangelsdorf]

Another question for the car campers among us. Do you guys do anything for food? I know that when I traveled in California there was lots of posted information saying to be wary of storing food in cars due to attracting animals. Same idea as not having food in your tent, I guess. Do you guys worry about that here, or is it fine?

[Jon Frohlich]

Another question for the car campers among us. Do you guys do anything for food? I know that when I traveled in California there was lots of posted information saying to be wary of storing food in cars due to attracting animals. Same idea as not having food in your tent, I guess. Do you guys worry about that here, or is it fine?

In Colorado it's not really that much of an issue. I've seen it happen but it's rare considering the number of people that are out. Most of the incidents seem to be in popular areas where bears and animals are used to people and thus a bit more bold about coming up to cars.

Fairly frequently we'll leave the cooler outside at night and sometimes even the dry food tote up on top of the car.

At Whitney Portal you can't leave anything in the car or you'll have a bear inside ripping your car apart.

[Skimo95]

I fully support tickets for people sleeping at day lots. In example, the Missouri Gulch lot is frequently filled up due to people being lazy and sleeping in their cars. It will only get worse as 14ers continue to become more popular.

[HikerGuy]

Another question for the car campers among us. Do you guys do anything for food? I know that when I traveled in California there was lots of posted information saying to be wary of storing food in cars due to attracting animals. Same idea as not having food in your tent, I guess. Do you guys worry about that here, or is it fine?

Biggest issue with food is mice. I use two coolers, one for cold stuff and one for everything else. If in an area where bears may be active, I will tape the cooler lids with some duct tape and make sure the are covered up with blankets/sleeping bag, bears go by sight in addition to smell.

[Wildernessjane]

I fully support tickets for people sleeping at day lots. In example, the Missouri Gulch lot is frequently filled up due to people being lazy and sleeping in their cars. It will only get worse as 14ers continue to become more popular.

Curious about your perspective here. I think of packing in versus sleeping at the trailhead in the same way I think about alpine starts. I can and do pull off alpine starts when it’s necessary but I do really enjoy sleeping in when I can. Any reasonably fit person can do the Missouri group peaks in a day and so it’s really not necessary to pack in. Plus, I would argue it would have a much greater impact on the environment if all those people sleeping in their cars would start packing in a couple/few miles (how many of you average 14er enthusiasts are packing out their poop, do you think?). Anyhow, Missouri Gulch Trailhead is not really a “day use area” as overnight parking is allowed and a permit is not required for backpacking.

[Teresa Gergen]

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[supranihilest]

Another question for the car campers among us. Do you guys do anything for food? I know that when I traveled in California there was lots of posted information saying to be wary of storing food in cars due to attracting animals. Same idea as not having food in your tent, I guess. Do you guys worry about that here, or is it fine?

I'm a vanlifer who lives in my van full-time, so I obviously always have tons of food and I never think twice about it. Maybe someone with wildlife management experience can answer my question, but is it an issue of having any food in a vehicle at all and just simply attracting animals (in which case even places like RV parks are a problem), or is it opportunistic access to food (say through carelessness e.g. leaving doors unlocked, or an animal breaking a window or something) that's the issue?

[JQDivide]

Bears / Food in vehicle.

I really don't feel it is a problem.
Do bears get in cars with food? Yes. Does it happen often? No.

I think about ALL the tents, trailers, pop-ups, RVs, vehicles, etc... that camp every weekend in CO with food in them...
Thousands and thousands of people, thousands of nights...

If bears were truly a problem, we would hear about this every week.

Just be smart. Clean up around your camp/car. Lock it if you can.

I truly feel most bear activity is in the wildland urban interface, where trash cans are easily accessible.
We saw more bear activity in town than we do living now living in the boonies, nearly same elevation.
So bears that have learned about people and food will probably become more proactive in their searches.

I once left bacon in my tent by accident... it was still there after the long hike.

[Chicago Transplant]

I have never had any issues with bears/animals and food in my car. I leave my car locked and I don't leave the windows cracked when I am away, and sleep with in it that way as well. I have heard of bears figuring out door handles and that if a window is cracked they can get their paws in and shake it until it breaks. I am not sure how common that is, but locking doors and keeping windows closed seems a good precaution.